To do list

New basket
Hand pump
Paint over flow pipe. 

Help from Jerry!

My life as of late has been .... more than FULL it has been scheduled to the minute.
I have two pay checks still in my pocket with no time to deposit.
I have several animals this weekend.
I have all rooms checking in today.
I am lucky to re-heat a cup of coffee from not having enough time to finish several times a day (same cup)

I am taking this weekend to.
Schedule out post for this and the RIDE BLOG
I am hoping to get another container , feed, supplements, and bags to take care of that winter emergency food bin.

But I was SO busy yesterday .. I had to get JERRY, yep! my husband to help out at the barn.  He let in the water guy! YEP... after draining the water container... TWICE this year I bit the bullet and got them some water so I would no longer have this weight on me.

He DID! He never said a cross word, although he did call me and say he couldn't get them back in.

Discussion of what he had in his hand, how he was approaching them, and SLOWING down his breathing/heart beat were talked over.

NO eye contact,
a steady pace, that is not stalking in nature
HIDE a rope!
and love on them once you are next to them.

HE QUICKLY got them in!

THANK YOU Jerry! Thank you VERY much my love.

Normally its all BUT the kitchen sink.

Most women pack everything but the kitchen sink, in my case I'm packing TWO.

With life, with packing, now with camping off the horses... I am always thinking of double duty for anything and everything I spend my money on.  This time it is called the kitchen sink.

One of my major worries for this trip is water.  I am going to be forced to ask people for water along the way.  Having said that, what would I put water in, and it be small enough to carry on the back of a horse? Large enough to hold enough water ( horses drink at least 2 gallons of water a day, with exercise it will be more)   The Kitchen Sink of course.

All ready I have started my serious research on products, bags, tents, rain gear... me and horses... etc...so
I was in REI ( Love that place!) and saw it a 20 liter kitchen sink for camping!   I got one to try, because it is relatively light and folds down to about the size of a breakfast plate.  My little boy is just VERY picky about his water and ? containers?  He hates buckets; I think he hates hitting his head/ eyes drinking out of a bucket.

I rode to the cafe down the mountain today.  Yes the one Wayne suggested to me on Facebook.  It was only 8.8 miles  (17.6 round trip) down the road but it was all I could do because of SEVERAL things...

Really it wasn't that bad, just a lot to take in.

My day started off normal enough, Navarre broke open a hornets nest, so he was bucking, kicking, throwing his head while I was getting stung and trying to stay on, handle Sweet Pea and get out of the curve.  I was only 1/4 mile from the barn and it was a great wake up call!   It's going to be one of those days a little voice in my head started to ramble... those days... a day... not today... yep today for sure!

Not 2 miles away from the barn that metal sound no horse person likes to hear! a shoe... a rear left but only in trot , so we're walking today.  It got a little worse but I walked the rest of the way.

There were a few fits from Sweet Pea, it was just the three Harleys still in my lane buzzzzzing by us and as if we weren't there.  This brought out the whites in her eyes that never went away.  She was wired the rest of the day, yelling for a herd of horses within a mile of finding any down the road.  She was difficult but it wasn't something anyone could blame her for. The good thing to remember as I mention all this buzzzing , is rarely are there Harleys on the road in January.  Goldwings on occasion with all their electrical gear, butt warmers, hand warmers and plugs for anything else you can imagine; but no deep sounding glaring shinny monsters called a Harley.

Poor Sweet Pea I was making her life a little difficult today!   I took away her lead mare status, and was riding Navarre as lead horse, this alone was enough to upset her beyond repair.  But on my trip I will have to switch who is carrying the pack and who I ride from day to day so neither is worn out from the weight the pack animal will have to carry!  It is different for a horse to carry an object that keeps no balance and packing  it is an art I will have to learn.

Today was only proof that I STINK at packing an animal!   I packed lunch for the horses, a 1/2 bail of hay, lead ropes, the sink for testing purposes, knife, etc... lots of tools ... today it was just STUFF, for weight, and practice.    GOOD THING I'M Practicing this months ahead.    I have a LOT not just a lot but a LLLLOOOOOTTTTT to learn.

Hay fell off, down the road only one more thing to add to the list.  But the horses were perfect! Standing not 3 feet off the highway unpacking, re packing, I was concentrating so hard I never saw the guy walking up to me.
He asked if he could help, and I took him up on his offer.  If you want to help you can keep that horse from eating grass!   He's diabetic and I can't do both.  The guys name was Zach, his wife's name was Amber and they had two little children, one in diapers.  So after I got Sweet Pea settled again ( I was hoping) I offered to put his kids on Navarre.    I said thank you so much, he stated that he didn't do anything!   Oh yea as if someone watching your children as you repair something is nothing!   You did me a HUGE favor... thanks so much.

As I was pulling off, a nice man and his grandson were walking down the road to us, each with a shirt full of apples.  Oh Thank you but they can't have them! I know..it almost sounds abusive! but all too true!  It sparked questions and then we exchanged stories as I stood in the middle of the road as cars passed us all quiet and slow.  His three horses ran up to meet us ( wanting their share of the apples no doubt) as we just chatted.    It was so nice, this is exactly what I love doing, meeting new people, each of these were helping and sharing.  This is what life is about! In that respect is was a GREAT DAY!

People were amazing today!  99% of road travelers today were so nice, slowing down, waving, waking up the kids in the back seat, snapping pictures of us ( if ANYONE has a photo of us... can you send it to me Please!) .  I actually had to flag a few of them to pass me etc... and today crossing a wooden bridge the cars in both directions actually WAITED for me!

I tied the horses up at the cafe, Sweet Pea called out the entire time I was there.

The ride home was hard, because I rode Sweet Pea!   She was so wired it was exhausting, but Navarre needed to be on the curb / in the grass and I figured I could handle it.  I did, but I don't want to have to do that all the time.    I know these days will happen on the trip as well so may as well get it down pat as much as I can.

a perfect end to the day... was Jerry took me out to dinner at a new place~  Thanks to my lovely Step-Daughter Gypsy!   Love you ! Thank you!   it was PERFECT!

short version.
found fold able container for water.
hard days ride.

Next post.
I figured out some things with traffic and horses freaking! Stay Tuned! I'm happy to share what I have learned.

Water for the barn,

While NOTHING is done yet.  I had an appointment yesterday with a woman in the area who specializes in water solution's for animals and gray water systems.

We are both in agreement on a LARGE water container, but it will have to go on the south side for winter exposure and I want a solar pump!  I do not plan on running any other electricity to the barn.  That money will be used for clean energy systems.

I am enjoying my barn more and more everyday.   But I digress...

Both women agreed, we needed to use only one tank in order to use the system to it's fullest. 

I am in the process of getting clutter???? free??? gutters. I am only getting bids at this point.
then I need to install down spouts to the area the cistern will reside.

I also need to worry about the cistern base.  Do I bury it?   or Do I create a concrete platform?

I am looking into both?  I have no idea which I will decide on at this point.  It may depend on how much rock or bolder we run into when digging it.  we shall see!   They each have their advantages.

Concrete... a clean area to walk around the cistern? but harder to hide into the natural setting I have. And it will be colder in the winter? what will it do to my freezing issue? All matters I will have to research.

Digging a hole?  Well it will look better from the road and in the barn BUT what about settling?  I may have to go down 3 feet or more for this to work for YEARS ... which is what I am expecting... and nothing less. Which will cost me as well.   Labor is not cheap and now that the barn is up this is not an easy area to get to!  Which is why I called her earlier(over a year ago) but she ???? needed something to go on, as where I would have dug the hole at the same time I was digging for the poles.  BUT that is me!  and as I always say... I have never fit into a perfectly shaped whole/ group in my life, why would I expect to now?   NOT...